Means for separating superimposed sheets



y 11,1955 M. R. FRANKLIN 3,182,995

MEANS FOR SEPARATING SUPERIMPOSED SHEETS Filed March 26,1965 2 Sheets- -Sheet 1 K 1 I s I! l l \NVENTOR M9022 m5 Pnrrroxvo fk/mw/J HAM-u 0000 W May 11, 1965 M. R. FRANKLIN MEANS FOR SEPARATING SUPERIMPOSED SHEETS Filed March 26, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BYMQWMW ATTORNEYS;

United States Patent Office In many machines, particularly document copying machines, through which sheets of paper, or similar flexible material, are conveyed, two sheets must be held closely superimposed during a part of their travel and must be separated from one another when they reach agiven point.'

In accordance with the present invention the separation of such superimposed pairs of sheets when they reach a given point in their travel, is effected by magnetic action, a

a permanent or electro-magnet being mounted in the machine to provide a suitable magnetic field and magnetisable material being provided on or between the leading edges carry the sheet to developing equipment 13, from which it is delivered out of the machine.

The construction and operation of the machine, as illustrated and described above, are in accordance with known practice, except for the construction of the guide member 8, which is shown separately in sectional plan view in FIGURE 2.

Member 8 comprises a rod 14, extending across. the

'Width of the machine, onto which are threaded a plurality of cylindrical permanent magnets 15, pole pieces 16 in the form of steel washers shaped to project beyond the periphery of the magnets, and brass spacer tubes 17; the

parts 15, 16 and 17 are held pressed together by a pair of end washers 18 and nuts 19, .threaded onto rod 14. The

of the sheets to be separated. The separation effected by the magnetic attraction need only be quite small, since any initial separation will be suflicient to ensure that the sheets pass on opposite sides of a deflector blade, which may be mounted adjacent the magnet to complete the separation of the sheets. 7 V

The invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawing,in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional side view of a document copying machine provided with sheet separating means in accordance with the invention; 6

FIGURE 2 is a sectional plan of a detail of the machine, drawn to a larger scale;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentaryview,corresponding to a 7 part of FIGURE 1', to illustrate the operation of the operating meahsg',

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, showing a modification; 7

FIGURE 5 shows a sheet carrying-a magnetisable element; and i FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5, showing a modification.

The document-copying machine shown in FIGURE 1 comprises a transparent cylinder 1, which surrounds a light source 2 and is supported by a set of endless travelling bands 3, trained around guide rollers 4, one of which is driven to advance the bands and rotate the cylinder (clockmagnets 15 are axially polarised and are alternately reversed in position so that like poles are adjacent one another, a pole piece 16 beingdisposed in contact with 7 each polar face of each magnet. The magnets, each with a pair of pole pieces 16, are arranged in groups separated from one another by the non-magnetic spacers 17, thus economising in magnet material while providing a mag netic field distributed across substantially the full width of the sheets which aretreated in the machine.

An original sheet to be copied in the machine is provided adjacent its leading edge (that is the edge which is I V to be inserted first into the machine) with a magnetisable element.

FIGURE 5 shows a sheet 29 having directly secured to it a magnetisable element 22, which may be a mark printed onto the sheet with a ferrous oxide based ink, or a piece of tape coated with iron oxide and adhesively attached to the sheet. FIGURE 6 shows the sheet 20 with a magnetisable element 22b, which may be a metal shim or a piece of non-adhesive iron oxide coated tape,

' attached by means of an overlying adhesive tape 24.-

As will, be clear from FIGURE 3, which represents a part of FIGURE 1 on a larger scale, when the leading edges of an originalsheet 20, carrying a magnetisable element 22, and of a sheet of printing stock 21 are directed by blade 6 between guide members 7 and 8, the sheet of printing stock 21 passes to one side of deflector blade 9, but the original sheet 20 is deflected by the magnetic pull of member 8 on element 22 to pass on the other-side of blade 9. V

Instead of providing a magnetisable element on the original to be copied, such an element may be applied to a transparent sheet which is inserted between the original and the printing stock when they are fed into the machine. FIGURE 4 shows such a transparent sheet wise in FIGURE 1). An original sheet to be copied and 1 a sheet of printing stock are inserted together into the ingthe sheets pressed tightly together and against the sur- 1 face of the cylinder while the latter makes the greater magnetic guide member 8, sheet 23 is attracted towards part of a complete revolution, the printing exposure being of a stationary deflector blade 9, the original passing be- .tween, this blade and an upper guide surface 10 to a conveyor 11, which delivers it out of the machine, as indicated by the full line arrows. The printing stock passes below deflector blade 9, which directs it along the path indicated by the broken line arrows the travelling bands 3, against which the sheet of printing stock is pressed by'rollers 12,

the magnets, deflecting sheet 20 so that sheets 23 and 20 will pass outside blade 9; The necessity for specially treating originals to be copied is thus avoided. The transparent sheet 23 carrying the magnetisable element may of course be used repeatedly.

The positions of the guide members 7 and 8 may be" interchanged, the original sheet then passing undeflected I to the outer side of deflector blade 9, while the sheet of printing stock is magnetically deflected to pass on the inner V side of this blade. In this case, of course, no magnetisable element is applied to the original but such an element is' Patented May: 11, 1965 tionarily mounted at the beginning of said two separate paths, a magnet means stationarily mounted at the end of the common path adjacent to said deflector blade and extending across the width of said common path, and a magnetizable element at the leading edge of one sheet of each pair, said magnetizable element coacting with said magnet means for eflfecting an initial separation of the sheets of each pair to ensure entry of the deflector blade between the two sheets of each pair thereby causing the sheets to pass on opposite sides of the deflector blade and along said separate paths.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said magnet means comprise a plurality of magnets disposed in alignment across the width of said common path, and

non-magnetic spacers are disposed between each two adjacent magnets.

ReEerences Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, SAMUEL F. COLEMAN,

Examiners. 

1. IN AN APPARATUS OF THE KIND IN WHICH PAIRS OF CLOSELY SUPERIMPOSED SHEETS OF FLEXIBLE NON-MAGNETIC MATERIAL ARE FIRST FED ALONG A COMMON PATH AND THE SHEETS OF EACH PAIR ARE THEN SEPARATED AND FED ALONG TWO DIFFERENT PATHS, A SHEET-SEPARATING DEVICE COMPRISING A DEFLECTOR BLADE STATIONARILY MOUNTED AT THE BEGINNING OF SAID TWO SEPARATE PATHS, A MAGNET MEANS STATIONARILY MOUNTED AT THE END OF THE COMMON PATH ADJACENT TO SAID DEFLECTOR BLADE AND EXTENDING ACROSS THE WIDTH OF SAID COMMON PATH, AND A MAGNETIZABLE ELEMENT AT THE LEADING EDGE OF ONE SHEET OF EACH PAIR, SAID MAGNETIZABLE ELEMENT COACTING WITH SAID MAGNET MEANS FOR EFFECTING AN INITIAL SEPARATION OF THE SHEETS OF EACH PAIR TO ENSURE ENTRY OF THE DEFLECTOR BLADE BETWEEN THE TWO SHEETS OF EACH PAIR THEREBY CAUSING THE SHEETS TO PASS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE DEFLECTOR BLADE AND ALONG SAID SEPARATE PATHS. 